Overhead garage door



- 3 w. D. FERRIS OVERHEAD GARAGE DOOR Filed Oct. 8, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet,1

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Oct. 31, 1933. w, D, FERR 1,932,515

OVERHEAD GARAGE DOOR Filed 001;. 8, 1930 z'sheets-sneet, 2

Patented Oct. 31, 1933 OVERHEAD GARAGE noon William D. Ferris, Sterling,111., assignor to poration of Illinois Frantz Manufacturing 00.,Sterling, 111., a cor- Application October 8. 1930. Serial No. 487,113

17 Claims.

This invention relates to garage doors, or doors for other buildings,and more particularly to those that open by moving upwardly, into anoverhead position.

Generally stated, the object of the invention is to provide a novel andimproved construction whereby the apparatus for assisting in opening thedoor, and for easing the door gently into closed position, is arrangedentirely in an overhead position, and in such position that the door,when opened, is in a horizontally disposed position immediately belowsaid apparatus.

It is also an object to provide a door of this kind made in sectionswhich are hinged together, which sections move or swing relative to eachother when the door is opened with the assistance of said apparatus, andwhen the door is moved into a closed position.

It is also an object to provide certain details and features ofconstruction'tending to increase the general efficiency and thedesirability of an overhead opening door of this particular character.

To the foregoing and other useful ends, the in vention consists inmatters hereinafter set forth and claimed and shown in the accompanyingdrawings, in which Fig. 1 is a view looking at the door edgewise, or inthe plane thereof, showing adjacent portions in open position;

Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the door in closed position;

Fig. 3 is a View inside of the building, looking at the inside of thedoor, showing certain portions thereof broken away for convenience ofillus tration;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the apparatus for assist-- ing in opening thedoor, showing the apparatus in the position in which it is shown in Fig.2 of the drawings, and also in Fig. 3 of the drawings.

As thus illustrated, the invention comprises a door composed of sections1, hinged together at 2 and provided with rollers or wheels 3 thattravel in the tracks 4 at opposite sides of the doorway. It will be seenthat these tracks have vertical portions in which the rollers or wheels3 travel while the door is moving upwardly, or while it is movingdownwardly, and have horizontal over head portions in which the saidwheels or rollers travel while the door is moving overhead, the tworight angle portions of each track being connected together by thecurved portion 5, as shown. Thus, the door can slide or move upwardlyinto an overhead and horizontally disposed open posiof the building insection, and showing the door tion, and can then move downward into avertical or closed position.

The apparatus for assisting in the opening of the door, and for gentlyeasing the door into closed position, comprises the levers 6 pivoted at7 on the horizontally disposed overhead beam 8, as shown. Another beam 9is provided in an overhead position, parallel with thebeam 8, andsprings 10 are connected between this beam 9 and the shorter endportions of the levers 6, in the manner shown. Sheaves 11 are providedon the building, inside thereof, over the doorway, and cables 12 aretrained around these sheaves, and the sheaves 13, on the longer ends ofsaid levers, the cables being fastened at one end to the beam 9 at 14,and having their other ends fastened to the lower corners of the door at15, whereby the springs 10 serve to assist in raising the door into openposition.

When the door is moved upwardly, the springs l0 assist in moving thedoor upwardly and. into a horizontal overhead position, through theaction of a lever 6 and the sheaves and cables, in a manner that will bereadily understood, so that the door will then occupy the position shownin Fig. l of the drawings. When the door is pulled downwardly, thesprings serve to cushion the downward movement, and serve to ease thedoor gently into closed position.

Thus, the apparatus for assisting in opening the door, and which makesit very easy to both open and close the door, is disposed entirelyoverhead, Where it is entirely out of the way. This apparatus is abovethe door when the door is in open position, but the door is also, atsuch time, entirely overhead and conveniently out of the way.

Thus it will be seen that the door raising and lowering apparatus, forassisting in raising the door and for easing the door gently into closedposition, is operative in a horizontally disposed plane, about thevertically disposed axes 7 and 7, which axes are supported in fixedposition by the cross-bar 8 disposed immediately over the horizontalplane of the tracks 4 upon which the door is supported in open position.

it will be seen, therefore, that instrumentalisprings and the door maybe of any suitable form or construction, without departing from thespirit of the invention. By cables, it will be understood that anysuitable flexible connection, such as ropes or chains or wires or cords,is meant. Preferably, each lever has a relatively short arm, and arelatively long arm, and the springs are preferably connected in anysuitable or desired manner with the short, arms, while the long arms arepreferably connected in any suitable manner with the door.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. In an overhead opening door. the combination of a door, tracksadapted to support the door in an overhead open position, means on thedoor for engaging said tracks, and apparatus located above the openposition of the door and having means for assisting in opening the door,and to ease the door gently into closed position, said apparatuscomprising a pair of levers pivoted to swing in a horizontal plane, andcomprising springs connected to the shorter ends of said levers,together with cables connected to the longer ends of said levers and tothe door.

2. In an overhead opening door, the combination of a door, tracksadapted to support the door in an overhead open position, means on thedoor for'engaging said tracks, and apparatus located above the openposition of the door and having means for assisting in opening the door,and to ease the door gently into closed position, said apparatuscomprising a pair of levers pivoted to swing in a horizontal plane, andcomprising springs connected to the shorter ends of said levers,together with cables connected to the longer ends of said levers and tothe door, sheaves being provided on said levers and on stationaryportions of the building to engage said cables, each cable having oneend fastened to a stationary portion of the building, and having itsother end attached to a lower portion of the door.

3. In an overhead opening door, the combina tion of a door; tracksadapted to support the door in an overhead open position; means on thedoor for engaging said tracks; and apparatus connected flexibly to thelower portion of the door, located above the open position of the doorand having means for assisting in opening the door, and to ease the doorgently into closed position, said apparatus comprising a pair of leverspivoted to swing in a horizontal plane, and comprising springs connectedto the shorter ends of said levers, together with cables connected tothe longer ends of said levers and to the door.

l. In an overhead opening door, the combination of a door; tracksadapted to support the door in an overhead open position; means on thedoor for engaging said tracks; and apparatus connected flexibly to thelower portion of the door, located above the open position of the doorand having means for assisting in opening the door, and to ease the doorgently into closed position, said apparatus comprising a pair of leverspivoted to swing in a horizontal plane, and comprising springs connectedto the shorter ends of said levers, together with cables connected tothe longer ends of said levers and to the door, sheaves being providedon said levers and on stationary portions of the building to engage saidcables, each cable having one end fastened to a stationary portion ofthe building, and having its other end attached to a lower portion of'the door.

5. In an overhead opening door, the combination of an door; tracksadapted to support the door in an overhead open position; means on thedoor for engaging said tracks; and apparatus located above the openposition of the door and having means for assisting in opening the door,and to ease the door gently into closed position, together with atransverse bar disposed in a horizontal plane immediately above thehorizontal plane of said tracks, and vertical pivots for supporting saidapparatus on the under side of said tranverse bar.

6. A structure as specified in claim 5, comprising another transversebar above said tracks, said apparatus comprising coils springsindirectly connected to said first-mentioned transverse bar, anddirectly connected to said last mentioned transverse bar.

'7. A structure as specified in claim 5, said apparatus comprisinglevers supported between their ends by said pivots, whereby said leversswing in a common horizontal plane, with coil springs anchored at oneend and hitched at their other ends to the shorter ends of said levers.

8. In garage door construction, the combination of a door, overheadhorizontal tracks, means on said door to engage said tracks, whereby thedoor is adapted to move from its closed vertical position into itshorizontal overhead open position, a pair of lifting springs, stationarymeans for supporting the springs at one end thereof, a pair of pivotedlevers and cables forming a medium of connection between the springs andthe door, said levers each having a relatively short arm and arelatively long arm, with each short arm suitably connected with itsallotted spring, and with each long arm suitably connected with thedoor, together with sheaves engaging said cables.

9. A structure as specified in claim 8, said springs being disposedhorizontally overhead, and said cables extending partly horizontally andpartly vertically, at opposite sides of the doorway.

10. A structure as specified in claim 8, each lever being pivotedbetween its ends, whereby each lever has its fulcrum between the twoarms thereof.

11. A structure as specified in claim 8, said levers being pivoted toswing in a common horizontal overhead plane.

12. A structure as specified in claim 8,'said cables being connectedbetween the door and the long ends of the levers.

13. A structure as specified in claim 8, said cables being heldstationary at one end and connected at their other ends to the door.

14. A structure as specified inclaim 8, said sheaves being stationary inoverhead positions, serving to support the cables at opposite sides ofthe doorway.

15. A structure as specified in claim 8, said sheaves being mounted onthe long arms of said levers, to engage in loops of said cables, one endof each cable being stationary, and the other end being connected to thedoor.

16. In an overhead opening door, the combination of a door; tracksadapted to support the door in an overhead open position; means on thedoor for engaging said tracks; and apparatus connected flexibly to thelower portion of the door, located above the open position of the door,having means operative in a horizontally disposed plane, aboutvertically disposed axes, for assisting in opening the door, andoperative about said axes to ease the door gently into closed 1,

and comprising springs connected to the shorter ends of said levers,together with cables connected to the longer ends of said levers and tothe door.

1'7. In an overhead opening door, the comabout said axes to ease thedoor gently into closed position, said apparatus comprising a pair oflevers pivoted to swing in a horizontal plane, and

comprising springs connected to the shorter ends of said levers,together with cables connected to the longer ends of said levers and tothe door, sheaves being provided on said levers and on stationaryportions of the building to-engage said cables, each cable having oneend fastened to a stationary portion of the building, and having itsother end attached to a lower portion of the door.

WILLIAM D. FERRIS.

